


My Generation

by Underthecorktree



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternative Universe - still Supernatural, Bunker, Dean/Cas Big Bang Challenge 2015, Domestic Castiel/Dean Winchester, Fluff, Happy Ending, Humor, M/M, Professor Castiel, Slight amounts of smut, bookstore, demon, minimal angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-16
Updated: 2015-10-16
Packaged: 2018-04-26 13:17:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 21,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5006221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Underthecorktree/pseuds/Underthecorktree
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean Winchester is the proud owner of Bunker Books and Records. He's living with his brother Sam and working with one of his bestfriends, Charlie. Life seems pretty great, at least, he couldn't complain, but the sudden arrival of a disheveled and sarcastic professor/aspiring bee-keeper show him just how wrong he was. Together, they discover the secrets of an ancient society called the Men of Letters, and discover that their world might be a whole lot bigger than they could have ever imagined.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the 2015 DCBB
> 
> This is my first year participating in the DCBB and I'm equal parts nervous and excited. It was a great experience and the whole element of a deadline really motivated me to write. I've written a few fan-fics before, but nothing of this calibure. 
> 
> I would like to say thank you to the wonderful artist BowandBow who illustrated this story for me. Here's the link to her Tumblr: http://bowandbow.tumblr.com She made the process so much easier and her art has perfectly brought my story to life. 
> 
> Here is the link to the art masterlist: http://bowandbow.tumblr.com/post/131257301334/dcbb-2015-art-masterpost-for-my-generation-by
> 
> P.S. None of these characters of anything besides the story belong to me. They are the work of the wonderful Kripke and I envy him greatly.
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

It started with a flash of yellow, and followed with a shout. Dean looked up from his book he had been reading behind the counter of the used record/bookstore he had managed for the past 2 years, and followed the sound of a gravelly voice proclaiming victory near the back of the store.

He walked back through the lines of shelves and baskets, full of what he saw as small treasures, until he was met with the owner of said voice. The man in question was gripping a book in his hand and gazing at it with something akin to reverie. Dean could now tell why he saw that shock of yellow running past him moments ago. The disheveled man in front of him was wearing a near neon yellow oversized sweater with a large bee embroidered in the center. His dark hair that sprung out in every direction provided a stark contrast to the almost overwhelming brightness that was this man’s attire.

For a moment, Dean tried damn hard to hold back his laughter, but when the man continued his worship of the book, Dean could no longer keep it in. Just like that, the man sprung from his unresponsive state, and Dean was met with deep blue eyes that he felt could see through every layer of his being. They caught each other in a trance, drowning in endless miles of forests and the never ending ocean. When his eyes began to protest the prolonged staring, Dean finally greeted the startled man.

“Hey, man. Find what you’re looking for?” He asked, hoping the disheveled man couldn't hear the nerves in his voice.

“Y-Yes, I… I’m so sorry. It’s just, I’ve been looking for this book everywhere and when Gabriel texted me saying he thought he saw it here, I had to come check it out.” The man said, before holding out the book for Dean’s inspection.

“Honeybee Democracy”He read “Can’t say I even knew we had that thing.”

“Yes, it’s… not a popular choice. That’s why I was having so much trouble finding it. It was recommended to me when I started beekeeping.”

“Beekeeping? Like, as a hobby?” Dean said, his voice dripping with incredulity.

“Yes. I have always been fascinated with bees.” The man stated, in his stoic manner, as if stating blatant fact. “

Yeah, dude. I can see that.” Dean said, with a nod toward the man’s sweater.

“Oh.” He said, looking down at himself as if just realizing what he was wearing. “Yes, I suppose that would be a likely conclusion.”

“So… You got a name, Honeybee?” Dean said, with his trademark flirtatious grin.

“Oh. Um… C-Castiel. Castiel Novak.” The man stammered out, trying to hide the blush that now coated his cheeks.

“Cool name. I’m Dean.”

“Hello, Dean.”

“Heya, Cas.”

They stared at each other for a moment, Castiel trying to figure out this strange man that seemed to display confidence in such an unfamiliar way, and Dean determining how much flirting he could get away with. With a jingle of a bell, both men jumped back, just noticing the small distance between them. Dean looked toward the door to see a man with sandy colored long hair that had to be at least a foot shorter than him. The man's gaze flicked over to them and recognition was clear on his face.

“Bro, what’s takin’ so long? You get your bee book already?”He said, sounding like he couldn't care less. Needless to say, it kind of angered Dean.

“Yes, Gabriel, I found it.” Castiel said.

“Gabriel…Oh” Dean stated, as he made the connections between Gabriel and Castiel. “You mean the guy who told you about the book.”

“Yes, Dean.” Castiel said with a nod.

“But, I’ve never seen you in here before, how did you know we had the book?” Dean questioned, turning toward Gabriel with a slight frown on his face.

“I have my ways.” Gabriel said at the same time as Cas stated “It’s best not to ask.”

Dean looked back and forth between both brothers, determining whether or not he should question further. It became obvious that he wasn’t getting any answers out of Gabriel as the man pulled out his phone and a lollipop and began scrolling through things on his phone while, loudly, sucking on the candy. Eventually he looked up at Dean and Castiel, who still had yet to move, and sighed.

“Ok. If the love fest is over, I gotta to see a man about a goat. If we could hurry this along, I’d really appreciate it.”

“Gabriel!” Castiel yelled, exasperated.

Dean shook his head at the man, and smiled slightly at the blush rising on Castiel’s face. He made his move back toward the front desk, waving Castiel over to the register. He watched as Gabriel made a few steps toward Cas and whispered something in his ear. Cas’ blush darkened and he smacked at Gabriel before he finally stepped away, laughing at Castiel as he exited the store.

“So…Gabriel seems…” Dean started.

“Horrible. He’s horrible.” Cas finished.

“Well, I was gonna say different, but yeah, I think what you said about covers it.”

“I’m so sorry. If you could just allow me to pay for the book, I’ll be out of your way.”

“It’s fine, dude. Trust me, I can deal with brothers. Sammy can be just as annoying sometimes, just in a different way.”

“I’m not sure it’s possible to be as annoying as Gabriel. He once set my table on fire because he wanted to go camping and decided the best place to make s’mores was my living room.”

Dean burst into an uncontrollable fit of laughter, feeling horrible for laughing at Castiel, but unable to hold himself back.

“Dude, I am so sorry, but you gotta see how funny that is.” He finally stammered out between fits of laughter. “

Yes, I suppose.” Cas said, a small smile tugging on the corners of his mouth.

When Dean was finally calm enough to run the serial code for his book through the register, he moved to bag the book before handing it over to Castiel.

“Thank you, Dean.”

“No problem.” Dean said, as Castiel made his way toward the exit. 

Before he could leave, Dean yelled “See you ‘round, Honeybee.” Before winking and turning back to his work. Listening to Cas stammer out an awkward and nervous goodbye, a wide grin fell upon Dean’s face. That was the most he had laughed in a long time, he definitely hoped he saw the man again

 


	2. Chapter 2

Dean burst through the door to his apartment he shared with his little brother Sam later that evening. He could barely contain the smile on his face that took up residence after meeting Castiel early that day. It was strange, but the man had a sort of calming effect on him, like he was comfortable in his presence even though he had only met him once.

The second Sam glanced up at him, it was clear to Dean that his efforts of hiding his happiness had been unsuccessful. He tried to look down at his feet and shuffle toward the kitchen, but Sam’s voice caught him before he reached his destination.

“Dean?”

“Yes, Sam?” He tried to say in his most innocent voice.

“Don’t ‘Yes, Sam’ me. What happened? Why do you look like a rainbow is about to burst from your ass?” Sam taunted.

“I do not.” Dean retorted, in his best imitation of a petulant child.

“Yeah, sure you don’t.” he said, staring up at Dean, giving up his mock attempt at looking like he was studying.

“You look like you finally got that pony you wanted when you were 7.”

“I didn’t want a pony, I wanted a horse. Horses are manly, and I wanted to be a cowboy.”

“Sure you did, Dean. Now, stop dodging the question.”

“Nothing happened, OK? I just had a good day at work.”

“No. I’ve seen a good day at work. This is way beyond that.”

“Nope, Sorry Sammy, but the boy genius is wrong. Nothing happened.” Dean replied, before finally slipping out the room to grab a beer.

“I will figure this out!” Sam yelled from the other room.

“Sure you will, Bitch.”

“Jerk.” Sam muttered under his breath before returning to studying, still thinking of a way to work answers out of Dean.

______

 

Hours later, Sam had his plan. Dean got home right on time, so it was obvious that he hadn’t been anywhere after work. Something had to have happened either at work, or during his lunch break, and since it was clear he wasn’t getting answers from Dean, his next best bet was Charlie, Dean’s best friend and co-worker.

Picking up his phone, he sent off a quick text, hoping to find some insight on Dean’s mysterious mood change.

9:03 PM **Sam:** Hey Charlie, You up for a quest?

9:05 PM **Charlie:** Always, Bro. What’s up? Is there a troll in the dungeons?

9:08 PM **Sam:** No. It’s Dean. He’s acting strange. Like the time he found that Zeppelin album at the store.

9:10 PM **Charlie:** Are you saying our little mopey Dean is…Happy? My God Sam, alert the media.

9:13 PM **Sam:** Come on, Charlie. This is really freaking me out. Nothing happened at the store today, you didn’t notice anything different?

9:14 PM **Charlie:** Nope. Wasn’t there. Comic Convention in KC today.

9:16 PM **Sam:** Well, something's up. We need to get some answers and he might tell you something.

9:19 PM **Charlie:** You know me, always up for a little recon. I’ll see what I can do.

9:20 PM **Sam:** Thanks Charlie.

9:21 PM **Charlie:** No problem. Peace out, Bitch.

Sam sat down his phone, and followed the scent of pasta into the kitchen. He found Dean huddled over his laptop with a bowl of spaghetti balanced on one knee in front of him. He didn’t know how many times he had told Dean not to eat while using his computer, but every time he gave it back it always seem to have extra stains on it just to spite him.

Turning his attention back toward his growling stomach, he walked over to the counter behind Dean to pick up some food of his own. Dean had clearly made enough for both of them, but apparently hadn’t bothered with actually calling him to dinner. He wondered if it had anything to do with what he was staring at so intently on the laptop. Leaning over to peek beyond Dean’s shoulder, hoping that he wasn’t looking at porn again, his jaw dropped.

“Dean, why the hell are you looking up beekeeping books?”

“What? No reason.” Dean said, all too quickly, closing the laptop and pushing out of Sam’s reach.

“Somebody's jumpy, I just asked a question.”

“I was curious. Sue me.”

“Curious…about beekeeping?” Sam asked incredulously.

“Yes. What’s so wrong with that?”

“Nothing. Nothing.” Sam said, taking his food and ducking out of the room, snatching up his laptop as he went.

“Hey! Get back here, bitch. What’s going on? I know that look, you’re plotting something!” Dean yelled, as Sam closed himself in his room.

“Something is totally going on.” Sam stated to himself. “And I am going to find out.” 


	3. Chapter 3

A few weeks later, Dean had practically given up on ever seeing Castiel again He lived in town obviously, but Dean hadn’t seen him around before, so it was highly likely that this guy was some sort of hermit. A cute hermit, but still a hermit. It was almost fitting that Dean would be attracted to the one guy in town he was likely to never see again.

    Charlie was in the shop again today, so that made things a little better. He was still a bit mopey though, and that meant he was too distracted to notice a customer come in. He wasn’t alerted until he saw Charlie jump up and move over to the counter. He heard her speaking with someone, but he couldn’t tell who. Charlie’s voice tended to carry a little more than others when she got excited, and it masked the other voice in the room.

    He was just about to sit back down, and get back to reading the last Game of Thrones book, when Charlie began calling for him.

    “Dean! A customer would like to see you.” Charlie yelled, practically giddy.

    Something was up, Dean could tell by her tone that she was on to something that she wasn’t going to disclose to him. He hated when she kept secrets from him, because they were almost always involving him. Charlie could be a freaking ninja if she wanted to be, and when she found herself a mission, it's best to play along until she tired herself out. If her voice was anything to go by, Charlie was definitely plotting, he just didn’t know what yet. At least, not until he got a glimpse of the counter, and standing there with Charlie was a disheveled man with a bulky black sweater covered in little bees.

“Cas?” He stuttered out.

“Hello, Dean.”

“Well, I’ll just leave you to it.” Charlie squealed while backing toward the office behind the counter.

    Inching toward the front desk, an awkward silence fell over the two. Dean could tell that Castiel was staring, and that didn’t exactly make him uncomfortable. What made him uncomfortable was how normal it seemed. He was already at ease in his presence, and that was just plain wrong. He looked up at the man, and with a small, almost flirtatious smile, he finally broke the silence.

    “So…What brings you out here, Honeybee?”

    Castiel flushed, looking down at his feet before speaking “I…I just. I don’t know. I came here to tell you that the book was very informative and helpful, but I realize now that you probably don’t care. You didn’t even recommend the book, so I guess it wouldn’t matter if I liked it or not. I’m sorry. I’ll just leave now.”

    “Wait!” Dean yelled, preventing Castiel from sprinting out of the store. “Dude, you don’t have to leave. I’m glad your book was helpful. I’m actually glad that you came back. I found a book for you.” Dean said, in a quieter tone, pushing a book on the desk toward Castiel.

    “Oh.” Castiel said, grabbing the book and examining each side. “What is this?”

    “Well…” Dean began, scratching the back of his neck, and blushing slightly. “I… After you left I did a little research. I found that book in here. I thought it might be helpful, it’s better for beekeepers that live in cities. I just hadn’t heard of anyone doing beekeeping out here, so I figured maybe that might help you start your own hive thing.” It wasn't totally a lie, Dean did think the book would help, but he definitely hadn't found it anywhere in the Bunker. 'Thank you, Amazon' Dean thought.

    “Thank you, Dean.”

    “It was no problem, man. I doubt anyone else would have wanted it.”

    “Still, this was very thoughtful. How much do I owe you?”

    “Owe me? No, dude, just take it. Like I said, not many beekeepers in Kansas.”

    “I can’t allow you to do that. Please, let me pay for it.”

    “Cas, just take it. If it’s really that big of an issue for you, how about you come back and bring me some honey when you get your hive set up.”

    “Ok. I can do that. It will take some time however, are you sure there isn’t anything else I could do?”

    “Well, you could give me your number.” Dean said, smiling slightly at the now, entirely flustered man.

    “Oh… Uh… Okay.” He said. “I don’t have anything to write on, or with.”

    “Not a problem.” Dean said, handed his phone to Cas. “Enter it there, and I’ll text you so you have my number too. “

    Castiel looked slightly flustered still, but with shaking hands, he entered in his number and saved it under Castiel Novak. Dean would never admit it, but he immediately changed the name to Honeybee, when Cas handed the phone back. He also did a quick internet search for a picture of a bee that looked like the ones on Cas’ sweater before texting Cas.

1:23 PM **Dean** : Heya, Cas.

1:24 PM **Dean** : I like the sweater, by the way.

 **Dean:** <Image Attached>

    He looked up from his phone to see Cas pulling his own from his pocket and then smiling slightly at the comment Dean made. He quickly typed out a text to Dean before replacing his phone in his pocket.

1:26 PM **Castiel:** Thank you, Dean.

    Dean smiled, it seemed so silly that a simple text message could make him this happy. It was terrifying in a way, not because Cas was a guy, he had no qualms about that, but because he was already falling for this guy he had met twice. To be fair, it wasn't really his fault, the man was just such a cute, dorky, little dude.

    “I will see you later, Dean. I have a class in an hour I need to get to. Thank you again for the book.”

    “No Problem, Cas. See ya around.” He said, smiling and waving at Cas as he retreated from the store.

    He thought he heard a faint squeal coming from the back room, but decided to ignore it. He was way too happy right now to deal with Charlie’s enthusiasm.

  
_______

 

Meanwhile, Charlie was sitting against the door, texting Sam as soon as she heard the bell signaling Castiel’s exit.

1:30 PM Charlie: OMG!!! SAM!!!!

1:35 PM **Sam:** Calm down, Charlie. What happened?

1:36 PM **Charlie:** They are so my new OTP!

1:39 PM **Sam:** Who? What are you talking about Charlie?

1:40 PM **Charlie:** Dean and Cas!

1:44 PM **Sam:** Cas? I don’t think we know a Cas.

1:46 PM **Charlie:** You don’t, but he definitely does. It was so cute. Dean called him Honeybee.

1:47 PM **Sam:** Him? Honeybee? Are you sure this is Dean we’re talking about?

1:49 PM **Charlie:** Oh, I’m sure. It was the cutest thing I have ever seen!!!

1:50 PM **Sam:** You think this is why Dean has been so weird lately?

1:51 PM **Charlie:** Pretty sure, which means Operation Honeybee is in full swing.

1:52 PM **Sam:** Operation Honeybee, Charlie? What does that even mean?

1:54 PM **Charlie:** It means we are getting those two together, and come on, I had to think of a name fast and Dean calls him Honeybee and it’s just freaking adorable!

1:56 PM **Sam:** Sure, Charlie. Good luck with that.

1:57 PM **Charlie:** Oh, You are definitely helping too.

 **Charlie:** Sorry, talk to you later. Dean’s yelling at me for spending so much time on my phone.

  
______

 

    When Dean finally got Charlie off her phone he noticed something was definitely off about her. She seemed jumpy, or at least more than the normal amount for Charlie. She was eyeing him suspiciously whilst pretending to be doing actual work. Dean thought about asking, but he figured the longer he avoided her obvious plotting, the better. So, left her alone and went to put out some new records they had received that morning. It wasn’t until 20 minutes later that he found Charlie sitting at the front desk with a look of accomplishment on her face.

    “What’s going on Charlie? I know that look.” Dean asked.

    “Oh, nothing, just a little research.” She responded, attempting to sound inconspicuous.  

    “Yeah, right, and I’m a freaking monster hunter. What’s up, Charlie?”

    “Fine. I just found out some interesting information about your Honeybee.”

    “What are you talking about…Honeybee?” He paused. “Oh! What the fuck did you do Charlie? How do you know about that?”

    “Yeah, Dean, like you weren’t totally obvious. I was right here, I could see the UST. Besides, all I did was a little harmless hacking.”

    “Charlie, I’m not sure you’re capable of doing 'just a little' hacking.”

    “Fine, I may have found all of his social networking profiles as well as his address, phone number, where he works, driver’s license, I could go on but I think you get the idea.”

    “God, Charlie, why the hell would you do that?”

    “Hey! I got to check this guy out. Make sure he’s good enough for my Dean.”

    “I’ve seen the guy twice. I don’t think that’s necessary.”

    “Really? ‘Cause I’m pretty sure you were doing some hardcore flirting and you got his number.”

    “What do you want me to say? I like the guy, Okay? That doesn’t make it okay to completely invade his privacy." He said, Charlie's face fell a little, but perked back up within seconds. 'At least she tried to feel guilty about it.' Dean thought.

    “Come on, Dean. What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him. Now, do you want to know everything about your little Cassie?”

    “Oh, God.” Dean sighed. “Yes, of course I do, but when he decides to tell me. I don’t want to creep the guy out by having the freakin' Wikipedia pages on him.”

    “Whatever you say, Dean. I guess you don’t care that his favorite band is Led Zeppelin then.”

    “What? Really?”

    “According to Tumblr, Yes.”

    “He has a Tumblr? Isn’t that for teenage girls?” Dean replied, scrunching his face a little.

    “Shut up, Winchester. Tumblr is awesome and you’d love it too if you got your head out of your ass.”

    “Fine. Whatever, just don’t tell me any more about Cas. I actually like him Charlie, that hasn’t happened since Lisa. I don’t want to risk scaring him off by knowing all that shit.” Dean said, 'though it might be kind of funny to convince him I'm psychic.'  He thought, smiling to himself for a minute.

    “Yeah, fine, I get it Dean. Believe it or not, I’m actually really happy for you.”

    “Thanks, Charlie.” He said, before clocking out and heading off toward the Impala.

    When he got home, it was to an empty apartment and a note stuck to the counter. He walked over to the fridge, pulling out a beer and some leftover pie he picked up at the diner the other night and settled himself on the barstool attached to the countertop. After taking a few gulps of his beer and demolishing the pie, he pushed aside the tin in favor of the note that Sam must have left.

**Dean,**

**Jess and I decided to go out for the night. I most likely will not be home until tomorrow. You should have a friend over or something. I went grocery shopping, so there’s plenty of food to make a nice meal for you and whomever you may wish to dine with.**

**Sam**

    At the bottom of the note was a small drawing of a honeybee.  So Dean thought Sam knows something’s up with him and somehow knows he calls Cas Honeybee. How the hell could he possibly know that? It wasn’t like he talked about the guy ever, he thought about him a lot, but he’s never talked about him in front of Sam. This could only mean one thing…

“Goddammit, Charlie!”


	4. Chapter 4

Dean sat at his counter, staring at the note as if he could burn away any evidence of its existence. He wasn’t looking forward to Sam coming home, endlessly questioning him about his ‘Honeybee.’ He knew that he would be so much worse than Charlie, maybe not as persistent, but that’s probably because Sam knew he’d get his answers somehow. Now, Dean’s behavior would all click into place and Sam would know that he was practically in love with the guy. 

Love? No he wasn’t fucking in love with a guy he just met, it’s not like he’s a teenage girl. The way he was thinking, he might as well be, he had basically turned into the biggest sap of all time. He was practically sulking in the kitchen, as if that would make anything better. 

Deciding to just ‘man the fuck up Winchester’; Dean stepped away from the counter, clutching that note in his hand. He wasn’t going to let this stupid thing ruin what could possibly be a great night with Cas. Not that he was taking Sam’s advice, because he was totally going to invite him over anyway. 

He tossed the note in the trash before walking over to his cell phone, perched on its charging station. It was some sort of fancy pad thing that Sam said they apparently needed because Dean kept stealing his charger. Quickly, he scrolled through his contacts, which at this point was basically 10 people, and came to a stop at the one titled ‘Honeybee.’ With a small smile on his face, he pressed the call button and waited, totally not panicking on the inside.  On about the 4 th ring, a deep, gravelly voice made its way across the line.

“Hello?”

“H-Heya Cas.”

“Dean?”

“Yep, thought you might like to come over tonight, I got some stuff I could cook up and we could watch a movie. You totally don’t have to, and I get that you’re probably a busy dude. I don’t even know what you do for a living; you’re probably some super genius bee scientist or something. I’m sorry, you barely even know me. I don’t know why I tho-“

“Dean!” Cas cut him off.

“Yes?”

“I would love to come over for dinner.”

“Really? Awesome, I’ll get something going. Why don’t you come over around six, I’ll text you the address.”

“Yes, Dean, that would be fine.”

“Cool. See ya Cas.”

“Goodbye, Dean.” 

Hanging up the phone, Dean finally allowed himself to stop panicking. That didn’t go so bad, yeah he kind of babbled, but he also got him to agree to dinner. He looked around the room for a couple seconds, assessing the area and deciding what level of cleaning would be necessary, and that’s when the anxiety came rolling back inside him. He realized that he was nowhere near prepared enough to have Cas over. He needed to shower and shave and find something that wasn’t entirely repulsive to wear. On top of that, the house was kind of a mess, considering Sam spent most of his time studying and Dean really only cared that his room and the kitchen were clean. He’d have to clean the living room and clear the dining table of Sam’s mountain of books and papers. There was no way he was going to get all this done in 2 hours. He had to cook dinner too, and he didn’t even know what Cas liked to eat. 

“Fuck! What if he’s a vegetarian?” Dean muttered to himself before rushing off to start cleaning. 

He decided that cleaning the apartment and himself were top priorities; he could always make dinner after Cas got there.  6 O’clock wasn’t that late, they could totally make dinner and still watch a movie.  He darted around the room, picking up the dirty clothes that lay sprawled across the ground and shoving them into the washer. He went around the room with a trash bag and rushed out of the door to throw it down the trash chute, and then he realized he never even texted Cas his address.  Running back into the apartment, he grabbed his phone and quickly typed out his message before returning to his frantic cleaning. 

A little over an hour later, Dean was finished with his cleaning and hopped in the shower quickly and went through his usual pre-date routine. What a second, was this a date? Had he explicitly stated this was meant to be a date sort of thing? Maybe Cas thought this was a friend sort of thing. He had been flirting pretty blatantly, but who knows if Cas picked up on that or even reciprocated those feelings. This was going to be horribly awkward if they weren’t on the same page. Dean wasn’t sure he could handle just being friends with Cas, the man was beautiful, and those damn eyes were ridiculous. 

He couldn’t worry about any of this right now, he had to get ready, date or not. Toweling off his hair, he rushed into his room and threw open his closet doors. He picked through his clothes in search of one of his few pairs of jeans that didn’t have holes in them. He finally settled on a darker pair that Sam bought him a while back. At first, he had refused to wear them because they were practically skinny jeans and he was not about to give in to that hipster bullshit, but thinking about how Cas looked in his skinny jeans had him rethinking the whole thing. He pulled them on with more than a little struggling before going in search of a shirt. He finally settled on a dark green button up that Sam had also bought him because Jess said it would complement his eyes or something like that. 

He heard the buzzer ring, signaling that Cas had arrived. He dashed over to the mirror to check everything over once and try to tame his still damp hair. Eventually he just threw some gel in it and ran his fingers through his hair a few times. If Cas was going to have the messy sex hair look, then he could go with that too.  Eventually, he decided there wasn’t much more he could do, and he didn’t want Cas thinking he forgot about him or something, so he ran to the door and buzzed Cas in before stepping aside, pulling open the door for him.

When he saw Cas, it was like his breath was pulled from his lungs in one swift movement. He stood still, watching Cas approach with a slight bit of hesitancy. He was definitely right about the sex hair thing. Cas’ hair was sprung out in every direction, like it had a mind of its own. He looked down at him to see he had changed into a button up as well. It was black but he had a little bee pin on his lapel, and that was about the cutest thing Dean had ever seen. He was also wearing skinny jeans that were almost as dark as his shirt but had a bit more of a grey hue to them. What really sealed the whole outfit together however, was the pair of bright yellow converse that Cas had on. They looked entirely out of place in that outfit, yet simultaneously fit so perfectly. 

After a moment, he realized that he was staring. They were both still standing in the doorway, as Dean had yet to invite Cas inside.  That was just great, it wasn’t like Dean needed another reason for this guy to think he was a freaking creep. In an attempt to save the situation, he opened the door wider and stepped to the side, allowing Castiel to finally enter his home. That was when he noticed that neither of them had said a word to each other since Cas’ arrival. 

“Hey, Cas.” Dean stuttered out, in almost a whisper.

The noise made Cas turn around, but after a quick greeting, he returned to his careful observation of Sam and Dean’s apartment. It was nothing fancy, but Dean thought of it as home. When you walked in the front door, it led you directly to the dining room, which was small and basically used as an office for Sam. Connected to the dining room was kitchen and slightly further down was the living room that led into the hallway containing Sam and Dean’s rooms. Cas was currently shuffling from shelf to shelf in the living room, until stopping in front of several crates of records that Dean kept as his own personal collection.

“Do you mind if I look through these?” Castiel asked, looking slightly more inhibited now, as if just realizing he may have overstepped some sort of boundary

“’Course. Those are all mine, sometimes we get things in at The Bunker and I just can’t stand to part with them.”

“I’ve been meaning to ask, what’s the origin of the name? It seems a bit strange for a book store.” 

“Yeah, well, that’s my grandpa Henry for you. He used to be a part of this secret society sort of thing; I think it was really just a bunch of nerdy dudes that liked to collect things. Anyway, they had these sorts of bunkers that were filled with all of their books and files and whatever other weird shit they came across. That’s where he got the name, when he started the shop he wanted to have all these old books and records to help preserve the history of them and pass it on to the new generations, which was kind of the goal of the society. I guess I’m some sort of legacy, but as far as I know, they disbanded a long time ago. Now all I got from that legacy is the shop and a bunch of old stories I get to hear every Christmas.”

“That’s amazing. I didn’t think those kinds of things actually existed. Do you remember their name?”

“Yeah, it was the Men of Letters or something like that. I’m sure I’ve got a few of their books at the shop. I’ll have to show you sometime if you’re interested.” Dean suggested, trying to subtly hint at another meeting. 

“That would be wonderful. I’d really like to see them. “He paused, now holding up a record. “Do you mind if I put this in?” He asked.

“Not at all. When your done with that, come help me in the kitchen. I still need to decide what to make.” Dean said, leaving Cas in the living room to dig through the fridge. 

As he entered the kitchen, he heard the beginning notes of Stairway to Heaven filtering through the apartment. It put a small smile on his face to know that Charlie wasn’t lying about his love of Led Zeppelin. It was amazing that he wouldn’t have to worry about invoking the ‘Driver picks the music’ rule with Cas. Just as that thought came to mind, he decided that he really needed to introduce Cas to Baby, seeing as she was practically the most important thing in his life aside from Sam, and she wouldn’t ask annoying questions. 

A few moments later, Cas entered the room, singing the lyrics under his breath and peering over the fridge door to examine the food alongside Dean. After some more frantic searching, Dean closed the door and turned toward Cas. 

“So, I can make a bunch of different things, but I don’t really know what you like. I make an awesome burger and I think I’ve got the stuff to make some homemade fries if that’s your sort of thing.” Dean thought for a moment, before remembering the reason he hadn’t made something before Cas got there. “Shit! You’re not a vegetarian or something, right? It’s totally okay if you are, I can make meatless lasagna or salad or something. Sammy’s into all that rabbit food, so I’ve got tons of it in here.”

“No, Dean, I’m not a vegetarian. Burgers sound wonderful.”

“Thank God.” Dean sighed, relieved that he didn’t have to eat a salad. 

Dean began to gather up all of the ingredients he would need to form the burgers and sat aside the potatoes and seasoning for the fries. Luckily it was still pretty nice out so he could go out on the deck and put these on the actual grill rather than the one built into his stove. Soon after he started preparations, he felt Cas’ gaze on him and turned around to see he had stopped humming and was now blatantly staring at Dean as he worked. 

“Hey, I’m sorry this is probably super boring to watch. If you want you could help make the fries, it’s not too hard.”

“It’s not boring at all. I enjoy watching you work, you seem very happy, but I would be glad to help. I’ve never made fries before, but if it’s easy enough I’d love to know how to do it.”

“Sure thing man, come here.” Dean gestured to the side of him where he had everything set out. 

He walked Cas through the whole process, cleaning, peeling, and slicing the potatoes, then preparing the seasoning. Cas picked it up pretty fast even though he claimed to be an mediocre cook at best. It was the most fun Dean had cooking in a long time, and he was kind of sad when they had placed the burgers on the grill and the fries in the oven. 

“So” Dean began “You know where I work and what I do, but I feel like I don’t know much about you aside from the whole beekeeping thing. Is that what you do for a living?”

“Oh. No, that’s just a hobby. I actually work at KU. I teach theology and a few mythology classes over the summer.”

“Wow. That’s really awesome Cas. You must be a genius or something.” Dean said, feeling slightly overwhelmed by this new knowledge. He knew that Cas was smart, one conversation with the man could tell you that, but now he felt kind of like an idiot in comparison.

Castiel chuckled softly before responding “I’m definitely not a genius Dean, I’m just passionate about the subject.”

“Still, that’s really impressive. I just got my bachelors in business with a minor in English and I only got that because my grandfather wouldn’t let me take over the business without a working knowledge of how to run the thing.” 

“Dean, you don’t need degrees to be intelligent, I can tell that you’re a very smart man.”

Dean blushed slightly at the compliment and was saved from having to respond by the timer going off on the oven, signaling their foods completion. He rushed to the grill while Cas pulled the fries out of the oven, eager to remove himself from that conversation. He knew deep down that he wasn’t an idiot, Sam had always told him that, but it was hard when you grew up comparing yourself to someone as smart as his brother. 

The cool air that hit him as he walked out on to his deck helped to clear his mind from the panic that had set in when talking to Cas. It wasn’t that Cas made him uncomfortable, he actually really enjoyed his company, and that’s what worried him. How could a guy like Cas ever want to spend time with a guy like him. Surely Cas had professor friends that were on the same intellectual as him. Dean had no chance with this guy. 

Solemnly, Dean walked back into the apartment with the tray of burgers and placed them on the counter. Cas already had the fries arranged neatly on two plates and was setting up an array of condiments across the counter. It was kind of adorable how organized Cas was, so unlike Dean, who tended to throw things wherever he thought they’d be useful. 

Cas looked up at him as he entered the room with a large smile on his face. It made Dean mirror the look of pleasure almost subconsciously, before he could make attempt to hide his happiness in the presence of the other man. Dean placed buns and burgers on both plates Cas had set out, and they got to work building their burgers. It was quiet, but in a peaceful way, like they were comfortable enough around each other that they had no need for meaningless small talk. 

They sat down at the dining table while Dean reached in the fridge to fetch them both beers. Once back at the table, he placed Cas’ drink down in front of him, still not speaking, and sat across from him. It was a small table, so if they wanted, their knees could almost touch, but they both remained at a respectful distance. As they settled in, Cas picked up his burger, before biting in and releasing a loud moan that succeeded in both embarrassing Cas and making Dean highly uncomfortable.

Dean choked a little before finally speaking. “You like the burger, Cas?” 

“These make me very happy.” He replied, with a small smile on his face.

“I’m glad. The fries are great by the way, good first try.”

“Thank you, but I think most of the credit goes to you. You have a wonderful talent for cooking, and you guided me to this result.”

Dean flushed, uncomfortable with the praise he was receiving. He stared back at Cas who had seemingly forgotten his food in favor of staring at Dean. He made attempts at starting a conversation, but it was hard when he kept getting distracted by Cas’ gaze. Finally, he settled on something that, In his mind, seemed suitable for a topic change. 

“Besides the beekeeping, what else do you like to do?”

“Well, I think I live a fairly boring life, I grade papers a lot, and I enjoy reading, occasionally writing as well, but nothing serious. Oh, and I listen to music a lot, I’m a big fan of Led Zeppelin as you could probably tell.”

“Yeah, they’re my favorite band too.” Dean said, looking at Cas like he was perfect, which in Dean’s mind, he kind of was. 

“What are your hobbies Dean?”

“Well, like you said, I’m kind of boring too. I read a lot obviously, and listen to classic rock, I love movies. Charlie and I, you met her at the store, we do some gaming in our free time, and… promise you won’t laugh?”

“Why would I laugh, Dean?”

“That’s not a promise. I need you to promise before I tell you this.” Dean said, looking far more serious about the matter than was entirely necessary. 

“I promise, Dean.”

“I… LARPasCharlie’shandmaiden.” He rushed out in a hushed tone.

“What?”

“I said… I LARP as Charlie’s handmaiden, she’s the Queen of Moons. “ 

“I’m sorry, I don’t know what that is.”

“It stands for live action role-playing. Like knights and kingdoms and stuff, think Lord of the Rings.”

“I’ve never seen Lord of the Rings.”

“WHAT!?” Dean yelled, with a look of utter disbelief on his face. “How have you never seen Lord of the Rings? It’s a classic!” 

“I didn’t watch movies and T.V. growing up. I had a very religious family and it wasn’t allowed. I guess the habit carried on into adulthood. I don’t even own a television.”

“Dude, we are fixing that, right now.” Dean stood up, grabbing both of their plates and whisking them off to the kitchen. He came back moments later with a bowl full of popcorn and two sodas he was attempting to balance in his arms. Cas stood up to assist him, before Dean led them both over to the living room to begin frantically searching for the box set Charlie had bought him for Christmas a few years back. 

“Found it!” Dean yelled, running over to the DVD player, waving a box in his hand. “Ok, so I got all 3 Lord of the Rings movies, extended editions obviously, but there are also 3 Hobbit movies that I’ll have to borrow from Charlie. They’re technically the prequel to these movies, but you’re going to watch them in order of release like the rest of us. Now, these movies are pretty long, do you have anything urgent you need to do?”

“No, My schedule is pretty clear. I have some grading to get done, but tomorrow’s Saturday so I don’t have class or anything. I can stay up late.”

“Good, ‘cause we have a lot of work do.”

 

_______

Halfway through the first movie, Dean comes to the realization that he and Cas have drifted closer to each other than would be entirely acceptable between two friends. Not that Dean really wants to be just friends with Castiel, but he doesn’t want to assume that Castiel’s down with that. Technically they did just have dinner, and Castiel is a seemingly willing participant in the almost cuddling that’s currently happening, but that doesn’t mean he wants something more.  Cas has been so thoroughly enthralled by the movie, that it seems entirely possible that he isn’t consciously aware of the non-existent space between them.

Dean glances back over at Cas for what seems like the 30 th time in the past hour and this time he actually looks. Before, the staring was mostly to gage his reaction to certain parts, making sure he understood everything, and wasn’t being bored to death by Dean’s persistence. Now, Dean looks at Cas’ face and tries to will the answers he’s looking for out of the man. Castiel seems to sense this struggle, as he turns to Dean with a questioning gaze, and leans over to pause the movie.

“Is something wrong Dean?” He asks.

“No. Nothing’s wrong Cas. Why would something be wrong? I’m perfectly fine, see, just sitting here trying to watch the movie. Nothing’s wrong. Obviously.” Dean said, mentally kicking himself for making it blatantly clear that something was bothering him.  If he didn’t think something was up before, now he definitely does. Nice going, Winchester, Dean thinks. 

Cas stills, looking like he’s thinking about something for a long moment.  Dean allowed himself to watch the furrow of Cas’ brow, as he tried to puzzle through what Dean was saying. Dean hoped that he wasn’t blaming himself for his problems. After a while, Cas seemed to decide on something, and finally glanced back up at Dean.

“Dean, Can I ask you something?”

“Course, Dude.”

“Are you gay?”

“What? No, I’m not gay.” Dean was kind of confused at the strange, seemingly sudden line of questioning, but then Castiel stood up.

“I see. I… It’s getting late, I think I should go.” Cas made a move to leave, but Dean stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

“Dude, you said you had nowhere to be, what’s wrong?”

“I… I seem to have misunderstood some things. Gabriel says that my “people skills” are “rusty” and sometimes I do not get certain social cues, especially romantically. You must forgive me for mistaking your kindness as flirtation. I understand that you will no longer wish to see me.” 

For a second Dean was entirely focused on the fact that Cas had just done air quotes and it was the cutest thing he had ever seen, but then the words clicked. Cas said he had misunderstood their relationship because he thought Dean had been hitting on him, which he totally was, so where the hell did this go wrong. 

“Fucking hell! I’m an idiot.” Dean yelled, startling Cas. 

“I assure you Dean, my mistake occurred through no fault of your own. I find you to be quite an intelligent man.”

“No, Cas. I’m an idiot because I told you I wasn’t gay.”

“Is…that not true?” Cas said, narrowing his eyes slightly and tilting his head, as if trying to understand a truly complicated problem. 

“No. It’s true, I’m not gay, but I ain’t straight either. I’m bisexual. When I told you I wasn’t gay, it was just me being used to people shoving their opinions at me. When most people hear that I’m bisexual, they act like I’m an idiot, because they don’t think it’s a thing. We do live in Kansas after all, not the most accepting of people. I’m just so used to people calling me gay that it was kind of an automatic thing, I’m sorry.”

“Oh.”

“That’s it… oh.”  Dean said, looking incredulously at the man, still prepared to leave, that stood before him.

“No. That’s not all.” Cas said, and then he leaned just slightly upward and captured Dean’s lips in his own. It was meant to be a simple, chaste, kiss, but then Dean took a hold of his shirt and dragged him forward. Cas suddenly felt Dean’s tongue, sliding along his lower lip, begging for entry. He opened his mouth to allow the intrusion, and then he was gone. It was a mess of lips and clashing tongues, but it was best damn kiss he’d ever had. 

Cas pulled back slowly, trying to gage Dean’s reaction and making sure he hadn’t jumped the gun on this whole “relationship” thing. Dean being bisexual didn’t necessarily mean he was attracted to Cas, he could still just be a side effect of the incredible kindness that Dean Winchester possessed. All of his worries were laid to rest however, when he saw the smile tugging at the corner of Dean's lips and causing the skin around his eyes to crinkle.  He is absolutely adorable  Cas thought, and then quickly scolded himself, knowing Dean would not appreciate the term.

“So…Yeah, definitely not straight.” Dean said, causing Cas to burst into laughter.

“I’m so glad.” Cas choked out, wiping the tears from his eyes.

“So, back to Middle Earth?” Dean said, motioning toward the television.

“Of course, Dean.” 


	5. Chapter 5

BANG!

Dean startled awake, pushing himself up from the couch he must have fell asleep on. The first thing he noticed was the aching pain in his back and shoulder.   Why the hell did I sleep on the couch?  Dean thought. The next thing he saw was that the T.V. was now off and it was clearly morning, as the light was now shining in from the window and nearly blinding him. He slowly stood up and attempted to readjust his back but he ended up making it worse as a loud crash sounded out in the house. 

He suddenly remembered what had woken him up. Someone was most definitely in his house. He turned toward the door, noticing that it didn’t look like anyone had broken it. Quickly, he rotated around the room, checking for signs of an intruder. Seeing none, he picked up the bat leaning against the sliding door that led to his patio. He shuffled off into the hall, looking for the potential burglar, and noticed the noise was definitely coming from the kitchen.  Why the hell would a burglar steal shit from my kitchen?  Dean thought. Ducking down, Dean snuck around the wall to place himself just to the right of the kitchen door. He was out of view, but from this position, he could determine exactly what he was dealing with.

It was then that he smelled something. It smelled a hell of a lot like bacon and pancakes. That was just strange; this person broke into his house to use his fucking kitchen? He stood and pushed his way into the kitchen, prepared to attack. He finally allowed himself to glance up at the intruder, and then he dropped his bat to the ground.

“Fucking hell! Cas, what the hell are you doing? You scared the shit out of me?” 

“Apologies, Dean. I did not intend to frighten you. I woke up and noticed we had fallen asleep during that movie. I figured that you would be hungry when you woke up, so I cooked us breakfast. I was just about to wake you up actually.”

“That’s fine Cas, but did you get in a fight with the stove or something? You do realize how loud you were, right?”

“Once again, I apologize, Dean. I did not know how you had everything set up. I had to dig through a lot of the cabinets and a few things fell in the process. I did not mean to wake you.”

“It’s fine Cas. So, what’s for breakfast?” Dean asked, now allowing himself to focus on the food that had smelled so wonderful earlier. He looked toward the stove, seeing that Cas had a few things cooking at once. It seemed like he really knew what he was doing in the kitchen. 

“Oh. I made pancakes, bacon, eggs, and I can make some waffles if you prefer those.”

“No, Cas this is fine. Really, thank you, you didn’t have to do this. It’s not like we slept together or something. I had no expectation of breakfast.”

“You’re welcome, Dean, but I would just like to mention that we did, in fact, sleep together. You drool by the way.” Cas said, then turned back toward the oven, hiding the smirk on his face and trying to muffle the laugh threatening to burst out of him. 

A mix of emotions went through Dean as Cas’ words flowed through his mind. At first it was mostly confusion. Dean definitely would have remembered if they slept together, it’s not like he was drunk or anything. Did Cas seriously think that he meant sleeping on the couch? As the rest of the words made their way through his ears, Dean realized that Cas was fucking messing with him. The little bastard thought he was funny. As he finally crossed through annoyance and anger, he slipped right into embarrassment at Cas’ final words.

“I do not drool!” Dean yelled, sounding way more defensive than entirely necessary.

“I think my shirt would beg to differ.”  And as Cas turned around, Dean could clearly see an almost dry ring of drool cascading down Cas’ shoulder. His face flushed deep red, and he turned his head down to the floor, while shuffling slowly away from Cas.

“S-sorry about that dude.” Dean said, scratching the back of his head.

“It’s fine, Dean. I really don’t mind all that much, it was actually kind of cute.”

“Excuse me?” Dean said, in mock offense. “Dean Winchester is not cute.”

“Oh no, I disagree. I think you are just the cutest little guy. Especially when you're sleeping, you’re just a sweet little thing.”

Fuck no! Dean Winchester was not cute, or sweet, or little. This was not going to fly.  Quick Winchester, think of something to dig yourself out of this damn embarrassing hole.  Dean thought. Ok, so Cas was definitely cute, but he didn’t seem like the type of guy to care about a word like that. Dean couldn’t find a thing about Cas that seemed bad in anyway.  Damn. Did he have to be so perfect?  Dean thought. 

“Yeah, well just you wait. You are not going to live down that little comment anytime soon.” Dean said, trying to keep up a mysterious tone.

“Oh. I’m so scared, Winchester.” Cas said, faking the fearful sound in his voice.

Dean decided it was best not to comment, that way he had more time to plot. Instead, he watched as Cas began to plate their breakfast and grabbed a few mugs, filling them with coffee that he must have brewed earlier. He saw Cas pull creamer out of the fridge poured it into both mugs then he put an extra spoonful of sugar in his own.  How the hell did Cas know how to make his coffee? Could he read minds?   Dean stopped that thought, it was getting fucking creepy and he’d much rather focus on the perfect man standing in front of him handing him a plate of food and a mug. 

“We can eat on the couch.” Dean said, turning to walk into the living room, hearing Cas’ footsteps as he followed along. 

They both settled down on the couch, Dean flipping on the T.V., as they dug through their food. Dean watched as Castiel pulled out a small tube of honey from somewhere, Dean didn’t know where, and began pouring it over his pancakes. Dean smiled to himself before placing his plate on the coffee table and leaning over to remove Cas’ from his hands as well. He could see the confusion in Cas’ eyes as he sat his plate next to Dean's, but it was quickly removed in favor of shock. Dean leaned in and kissed the look off of his face, it was quick, but seemed to hold an importance that their previous kisses hadn’t. This kiss wasn’t full of lust or a deep desire. It was like it settled something inside both of them, telling them that this was something worth trying for, something that could grow to be special. At least, that’s what Dean thought, in his, admittedly sappy, thoughts. It seemed that was not how Cas felt however, because as Dean pulled away, the confusion was back, but now it was mixed with some sort of sadness and frustration. It didn’t really matter what it was exactly, it just felt a lot like rejection to Dean.

“Is…Is that not ok?” He stuttered.

“I don’t know.” Cas said, looking anywhere but Dean.

“That’s not really an answer, Cas. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable, if this isn’t something you want, you gotta tell me.”

“I don’t understand, Dean. I am not accustomed to the protocols involved in this.”

“Well, usually when two people like each other, they kiss, and date, and… stuff.” Dean said, in a slightly mocking tone. 

“But, is that what we’re doing? Dating?” Cas questioned.

“I don’t know, man. I don’t do this sort of thing.” Dean said, scrubbing a hand over his face. “But, I do know that I really like you. So, if you think that’s something you want, I’m willing to try it.”

“I think I would be amenable to that.” And for the first time since the conversation started, Dean saw the walls break down from behind Cas’ eyes, and a small smile flooded back to his face. It was beautiful in a way that Dean couldn’t look away from, but it seemed like it held this profound sadness in it as well. It was a smile that hadn’t often seen the light of day, and Dean vowed to fix that in any way that he could.

_______

Hours had passed with Dean and Castiel sitting on the couch, wrapped up in each other. Neither had to work, and seemed perfectly content to sit around all day, with Cas allowing Dean to educate him in all things pop culture. That was, until noon rolled around and the sound of large footsteps and jangling keys broke through their bubble, launching Dean into full-on panic mode.

Dean sprung up from the couch the moment that Sam walked through the door, which in hindsight, was just about the worst way to hide something from his brother. The only thing that may have been less effective would be throwing a blanket on top of Castiel and acting like he wasn’t there. Which, he wouldn’t lie, had totally crossed his mind. 

Sam glanced around the room, amusement already clear in his eyes, and it only worsened the moment his eyes landed on a disheveled Castiel, curled up on the couch, eyes widening in shock. Sam looked back and forth between Dean and Cas for what seemed like hours before he finally burst out laughing, nearly doubling over himself. Dean was anything but amused with his moose of a brother, but the laughter seemed somewhat comforting to Castiel if he expression was anything to go by.

Once Sam had finally calmed himself down enough to speak, he wiped the tears from his eyes and turned back towards Dean.

“So… I assume this is your Honeybee.” Sam said, while attempting to calm himself.

Cas looked up at his words, somewhat shocked, but mostly embarrassed. He could feel the heat rising to his face, and a quick glance at Dean showed that he wasn’t much better off.

“H-Honeybee?” He stuttered out.

“Yeah, you know how I sometimes call you that, because of the sweaters and shit? Well, Charlie, my friend who works at the shop, she heard me call you that, and may have told Sam about it. I promise it wasn’t from me, I’m not like weirdly obsessed with you or anything.”

“Oh, he is totally obsessed with you.” Muttered Sam.

“Shut it, Jerk.”

“Bitch.” 

Sensing that the brothers clearly had something to talk about, and in an effort to avoid confrontation, Castiel stood up. 

“I… I think I should probably go now.” He said, as he made his way to his coat.

“Oh no, you don’t have to leave Cas. My brother may be a huge dork, but he’s not  that  big of an asshole. You can totally stick around, if you want that is.” Dean said, aiming for his most calm and collected voice, while inside, he was kind of panicking, thinking that he scared Cas away.

“No. That’s fine. I have some grading to do, and I don’t want get behind. I had a really nice time, Dean and you have my number. I would very much enjoy doing this again. Perhaps you could visit my home sometime and meet Kevin.” Cas said, as he pulled on his coat and turned back toward Dean.

“Kevin?” Dean asked, slightly confused.

“My cat, I didn’t mention him?” Cas said, tilting his head and narrowing his eyes, but finding no recognition in Dean’s stare. “Well, I’ll have to send pictures.” 

With all the confusion cleared up, Cas seemed to come to the conclusion that everyone was done talking. He leaned in and gave Dean a quick kiss, which was more like a peck, and moved to leave. Sam quickly gathered himself to shout a goodbye, as Dean stood, attempting to access what just happened.

“Cas is one weird dude, Dean.” He heard Sam say. “But, I can tell he likes you, and you seem happy, so I guess that’s all that matters.”

Dean couldn’t agree more, even though he was still having a bit of a hard time figuring the guy out. It seemed like he hadn’t scared him too much, he just hoped that after meeting the rest of his family and friends, Cas wouldn’t go running for the hills. It seemed weird to think about that so soon. It had taken him months with Lisa and she was persistently asking to meet them, but with Cas, he just fit. 

Of course, he was a little worried about officially meeting Charlie, because she can be a bit much, and his dad was always a mystery with this sort of thing. He hoped he would at least give Cas a chance. It wasn’t like he despised his son’s bisexuality but it wasn’t something he understood, and that could make for some awkward dinner conversation. He just hoped it wasn’t as bad as when he brought Andy over. He couldn’t look at ribs the same way after that. Dean shuttered a bit at the memory of that particular night. It scared him to think that one bad decision could impact his parent’s opinions of a wonderful guy like Cas. 

“Did you want to tell me about this, Dean? What’s going on with you two?”

“No. I don’t want to talk about my feelings, Samantha. This isn’t one of those talk shows you pretend to watch for Jess. Cas is a dude that I happen to find really fucking hot, and he happens to feel the same. End of story, I’m heading to the Bunker.” Dean ranted, shoving on his boots.

“Dean! This is not how this is going down. You are not going to do this again. I can tell you care about him. He isn’t just some guy for you, and you know that. It took you months to even tell me about Lisa and you fucking live with me! I’m not letting you go down that road, I want to know Cas and I’m sure that everyone else will too. I know for a fact that Charlie thinks he’s dreamy.”

“Oh God, tell me you two aren’t conspiring again!” Dean huffed.

“Dean, we care about you.”

“And I care about getting out of this damn conversation. Bye, Sammy, call me when we’re done with feelings hour.” He said, finally allowing himself to step out of the door. 

As Dean walked toward the Impala, he allowed himself to think back to his day with Cas. It was surprisingly hard to keep a big, dopey smile off his face. Cas was just so awkward and weird, but in the most adorable way possible.  God, and I called Sam the girl! I just called someone freaking adorable!  Dean thought. It was hard for him to find any other way to describe it, Cas had an almost child-like innocence to him, it wasn’t difficult to see that as cute, even if he talked like he’d been smoking for the past 30 years. If he was going to keep thinking all sappy and gross, or Sam-like, as Dean often called it, he definitely hoped Charlie wasn’t in today to see it.  Yep, I’m majorly screwed.  He thought, shutting the door to the Impala, and allowing Metallica to calm his nerves as he drove to what would surely be his doom.


	6. Chapter 6

 The Bunker had become somewhat of a sanctuary for Dean as soon as he was old enough to stick around and help his grandfather. Henry had always made sure Dean had something to do when he was there, and it was nice to feel useful every so often. When he was in high school he spent more time there than at his own home, organizing the old records and reading anything he could get his hands on. Sammy was always the smart one at home, but with Grandpa Henry, Dean could be himself. He could discuss theories on his favorite Vonnegut novels or talk to the customers about some ancient text, and no one would act like it was a sign of the damn apocalypse.

 

    Today, the Bunker was not his usually happy place, rather, it seemed to transform into a war zone . The second he stepped in the door, he was ambushed by a mess of red hair and squealing, almost tackling him to the ground.

 

    “DEAN! Tell me, tell me, tell me!” Charlie shouted, waving her hands around his face.

 

    “God, Charlie, at least let me walk through the damn door.”

 

    Hearing his tone, she at least had the sense to tone it down a little. She even managed a look that was passable for guilty, of course, Dean knew her too well for that to work, but it was the thought that counts.  He was able to get through to the counter and seat himself behind the register before the onslaught began once more.

 

    “Ok, now that everyone’s comfortable…Spill!”

 

    Dean attempted to glare at her, but it was clear she was not about to back down. He should have known that wouldn’t work, after all, she was the queen. He sighed, conceding to his own defeat, and waited for Charlie to pull up a second chair behind the desk. After checking that the store was free of customers – It was a small town, people talked – He figured he could no longer delay the inevitable.

 

    “So…I’m guessing Sam told you something.” He started.

 

    “Who cares what Sam told me, I want to know what happened on the date!” She said, practically jumping up and down in her seat.

 

    “It was fun” He said, trying to avoid any real information. “We had fun.” He repeated.

 

    “Really, Dean? Did you think you could actually get away with that?”

 

    “No.” He said, lowering his head, sulking.

 

    “I want all the details! Ok, maybe not all the details, but most of them. More than what you told Sam.”

 

    “I didn’t tell Sam anything.” He said, then watching her continue to glare, he recounted the date.  “Well, we talked a lot, and he succeeded in proving that he is way out of my league. We had dinner, and let me tell you, that guy loves his damn burgers. He told me he hadn’t seen Lord of the Rings so of course we had to marathon those.”

 

    “Wait a second…” Charlie interrupted. “He hadn’t seen Lord of the Rings before? And, those movies are pretty fucking long, did he spend the night? Tell me he spent the night, Dean!”

 

    “No, he hadn’t seen them before, I know, fuckin’ weird, and yes, he spent the night. Before you go all ballistic, it wasn’t on purpose and we slept on the damn couch. He did make me breakfast though, the guy's a pretty good cook.” Dean said, trailing off as the thoughts came flooding back to him.

 

    “Oh, man, you got it bad Winchester.”

 

    “Shut it, Charles. I don’t need this from you too. We’ve been on one date. ONE! It’s not like I’m gonna marry the dude.” He sighed.

 

    “But you want to.” Charlie chirped, holding her hands to her heart. “And I better be the maid of honor. The Queen will accept no less than perfection at her handmaidens wedding.”

 

    It was hard for Dean to glare at her after that line, even if she was being annoying as hell. There was a reason Charlie was his best friend, and he knew that her teasing was harmless. Still, he was worried that Cas wouldn’t get that, maybe he would think they were jumping into this whole thing way too fast. Dean was getting ahead of himself again, like he said, it was just one date, no reason to parade Cas around just yet. He had already met Sam, which should be enough for now. He knew Gabriel after all, so it was only fair that Cas had met Sam.  

 

    Satisfied that he could justify their actions in his head, Dean set out to take his mind off Cas and everything else for a few hours. He knew there was a stack of old records in the back he had been meaning to get to, and Charlie had it covered up front. He could definitely sort through some things, maybe listen to some music while doing it, anything to calm himself. He definitely didn’t need to freak Cas out by texting him frantically just hours after he left, and he was fairly certain this was the only thing that would work.

 

    Digging through the archives, where they kept all the items that needed to be shelved or categorized, he stumbled upon something strange. It was a folder, just like anything you’d find in a filing cabinet, not that Dean owned one, but it had a weird logo on the cover. It appeared to be two arrows pointing in opposite directions that crossed paths in the center, all surrounded by a circle. He thought he recognized the symbol, but he wasn’t sure why. Looking around the area, he saw nothing else like it. There were no other folders or books that had the symbol on it, he figured it had been pushed to the back of the shelf and forgotten, like old things often are.

 

    Deciding to give into his curiosity, he opened up the folder and stood in shock at the information inside. On the surface, it looks almost like a police report. It’s got your usual details, crime scene stuff, vic’ names, notes from various interrogations, but then he sees the pictures. They look old, but they’re in good enough condition to make out the details. The top few are pictures from the scenes, mangled bodies, bloodied and beaten, almost like they were tortured. Dean stares at them with a look of horror in his eyes, but continues to flip through them. It’s the last picture that shocks him the most.

 

    “Fucking demons!” Dean yells.

 

    The picture is of a woman who appears to be human, at least at first glance.  She’s about 5’6” with dark blonde hair that flows down her shoulders in large curls. She seems pretty enough, in that house wife sort of way, definitely not someone Dean would peg for a murderer, but then he gets to her face. She’s snarling, almost like a rabid animal, and her eyes are pitch black, covering every speck of white. In red pen someone circled her face, with emphasis place on her eyes and the word ‘DEMON’ written with an arrow pointing to the circle.

 

    At first, Dean is left in a state of disbelief, because this has to be a joke. His first thought is that it was some weird fan shit from one of Charlie’s T.V. shows, but this is way too detailed for that. Then he takes a quick glance through the file again, reading a little further into the report. Once he reaches the bottom, he realizes that this is most definitely not a trick, and is in fact, pretty fucking real. In small letters, next to a seal displaying the logo on the front of the folder, the words ‘Men of Letters’ are printed onto the sheet.

 

    He doesn’t know what to do now. He has to show this to someone, but who would believe him, hell, he barely believes this and he has hardcore evidence right in his hands. He could show Charlie, she’s into all that fantasy crap, but then again, her reaction might not be exactly helpful though. Then he thinks about telling Sam, but the dudes busy enough with his entire lawyer crap, he doesn’t want to bother him with this crazy shit. In a moment of pure desperation, it hits him.

 

    “Cas!” He shouts, knowing that he probably sounds insane. He knows however, that Cas teaches a class on mythology and theology, both being helpful on the demon front. Plus, he thinks he remembers Cas being interested in this Men of Letters stuff last night. So, at risk of seriously freaking Cas out, he pulls out his phone and presses dial.

 

    “Hello, Dean.” He answers almost immediately.

 

    “Cas, I need you down here right now!” He says, nerves apparent in his voice.

 

    “Dean, I just left your apartment an hour ago. What happened? Is something wrong?”

 

    “Really can’t explain this over the phone, Cas. Just get your ass to the bunker, and bring whatever information you have about demons.”

 

    “Demons?”

 

    “No time for questions. Just get down here.” He rushes out as a new wave of panic settles inside him

 

    “Fine. I’ll be there in about 20 minutes.” Cas responds, hanging up before Dean can yell at him to hurry.

 

    In the end, it only takes Cas 15 minutes to get there, because he may have sped a bit. It seemed like an emergency when Dean called, although he didn’t know what kind of emergency it was, he had grown to care for Dean enough to want to help him through whatever this was. Cas pulled into the Bunker, seeing only Charlie at the front desk as he rushed to the trunk of his Prius and pulled out all the books he could find involving demons.

 

    He didn’t have much to bring with him. He generally didn’t deal with that type of thing outside of the biblical connotations involved in teaching theology. For that reason, most of the books he could find were based on the Christian ideals, but he had found a few that’s origins seemed closer to mythological lore. He just hoped that they would help with whatever Dean needed them for.

 

    As he walked in, Charlie perked up at the sight of his face. He tried to avoid conversation, but that can be hard around someone like Charlie. It seemed impossible not to like the girl, she was so friendly and excitable, a world away from Castiel’s usual crowd of friends, if you could call them that. She stopped him before he was able to locate Dean, and was quickly able to tell that he was in a slight state of panic.

 

    “What’s up, Cas? You look like you just ran a marathon.”

 

    “Nothing, Charlie. I just need to see Dean. Do you know where I could find him?”   

 

    “Didn’t he spend the night with you? It’s a little early for a second date. Am I gonna’ need to give the ‘If you hurt him’ speech this soon?”

 

    “I’m not here for a date Charlie. I have some books Dean wanted to see.”

 

    “Oh.” Charlie said, slightly dejected “That’s no fun. He’s in the back. Just follow that row of shelves until you reach the door with a Batman poster on it.” She motioned toward a row of shelves near the furthest wall that seemed to run the entire length of the store. After a quick ‘Thank you’ Cas went off in that direction until he was almost at the back of the shop, before he stopped in front of a large wooden door, that seemed much older than the place itself.

 

    As he opened the door, he could hear a faint string of curses coming from further within. Though only one light was on to illuminate the pale grey storage room, it was easy to follow the sound of Dean’s voice through the metal stands holding ancient texts and rare books until he caught sight of Dean. He was hunched over on the ground, clutching an opened tan-colored folder in his hands. Even from a distance, Castiel could see that he had been running his hands through his hair. He assumed at this point that whatever happened must have been much worse than he thought.

 

    He walked slowly toward the anxious man, fearing that he may be in the midst of a panic attack. Castiel had issues with them before, and hoped that this wonderful man before him did not share that struggle. He was cautious as he approached, acting as though Dean were a frightened animal. Keeping his voice low, he crouched down toward Dean and tried to get the man to look up at him.

 

    “Dean.” He said softly. “What’s going on? Can you tell me?”

 

    Dean did not speak, but he released his harsh grasp on the papers below him, and pushed them slightly further toward Cas. Without a word, Castiel plucked them from his hands and smoothed the creases caused by Dean’s tight hold. There were pictures attached to the file as well, but for the moment, he focused on the pages of written notes. They described a string of serial killings in Missouri, not far from St. Louis that, from what he could tell, seemed to be caused by something unnatural. The more he read, the stranger the report seemed to get, detailing the smell of sulfur in the air, and recent reports of cattle dying. None of that information link to anything particular for Castiel, but that file was quite clear on what this all meant. Demons had killed these people, and from the looks of the photographs, it was one in particular.

 

    He really didn’t understand what all this meant, but by the look on Dean’s face, he must have known something about this. At least that explained why he had Cas grab all those demon books, but he wasn’t sure any of them would be of anymore use than the detailed pages of notes before him. Flipping back the front of the folder, he saw the words ‘Men of Letters’ at the bottom, and it all clicked. This was how Dean knew what this was; his grandfather must have something to do with these reports.

 

    “Dean, can you explain what these are?” Castiel said, trying to maintain as calm a presence as possible.

 

    “I…I don’t know.” He stammered out.

 

    Not wanting to push, he shoved the books he had brought toward Dean, allowing him to gather his thoughts as he leafed through the different information held within the various texts. While he did this, Castiel went over the file again and tried to recall how it connected with anything he knew about demon lore.  He thought it possible that this document had been faked at first, but it seemed too thorough, plus he couldn’t think of a good reason for anyone to put this much work into a prank.

 

    “It’s all real.” Dean started to mutter “The stories, everything he told me. It’s all real.”

 

    “What’s real, Dean?”

 

    “My… my grandfather, he used to tell me stories about ghosts and demons and these hunters that spent their lives saving people from the monsters in this world. I thought, at the time, that he was just making shit up, telling a little kid these stories to stop him from being scared of the dark. Now, I’ve got this file, with the seal of his society on it, telling me those things he told me weren’t just stories, they were memories.” He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “Shit, Cas! What am I supposed to do with this?”

 

    “Is your grandfather still alive?” He questioned, hoping to coax Dean down from his near panic attack.

 

    “Yeah, he lives in by my parents. It’s just a 15 minute drive from here.”

 

    “Would you like me to take you there?”

 

    “I don’t want to drag you into this Cas. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have called you, it wasn’t fair of me.”

 

    “Dean, do you understand how cool this is for me? Scary, yeah, but this is my life’s work. I’ve studied these things for so long, and to find out that they’re real? That’s amazing, Dean.  I’m not going to leave you to deal with this alone. Besides, you’ll need my expertise.” He smirked, trying to lighten the mood a little.

 

    “I guess I do. Thanks, Cas.” He finally looked up at him and smiled a little.

 

    “That’s what I’m here for, just call me Indiana Cas.”

 

    “He was an archeologist, you big doof.”

 

    “Whatever, I tried.”

 

    “I’m not saying I’m opposed to you wearing the hat. Maybe the whip too.” Dean explained, smirking.

 

    “Dean!” Cas said, acting scandalized, before sighing and picking up his books off the ground. “We should get going, I think it would be best for both of us if we got some answers today.”

 

    “Yeah, You’re right. I’m really sorry I dragged you into this, Cas. I gotta’ say though, I’m glad you stuck around.”

 

    “Me too. I know we haven’t known each other long, but I really like you, Dean.”

 

    “I like you too, Cas.” Dean paused “Now, let’s get over this sappy stuff and go demon hunting!” Dean yelled, clapping his hands as he stood up, clearly excited at the prospect of an adventure. The sudden mood change confused Cas, but he figured if Dean wasn’t freaking out anymore, he should probably leave it alone.

 

    As they ducked out of the back, Charlie eyed them both as if she knew something they didn’t, and winked casually at Cas as he walked by. He stopped short, realizing what she must have thought they were doing, and quickly tried to think of a response, but no words came out. He looked over to Dean for help, but saw him silently shaking with laughter. ‘Traitor’ Cas thought, before turning a glare on both of them and huffing as he walked out of the store to wait for Dean in the car.

 

    “We’re heading out, Charlie. I’m gonna introduce Cas to Grandpa Henry. Cas is really into all this old junk and ancient texts, I think they’d really get along.”

 

    “Meeting the family already? He’s got you good, Winchester.”

 

    “Dorothy, Charlie, Dorothy. Just think about that the next time you want to make fun of me. I know for a fact that she’s coming to pick up a book tomorrow, and if I just happen to stop by during your shift, and I maybe happen to let it slip that somebody might just be a little in love with her, that would be such a shame, wouldn’t it?” He asked, feigning innocence.

 

    “You wouldn’t!” She gasped.

 

    “Don’t cross me, Bradbury. You may be the Queen but I am the Queen’s most trusted handmaiden. I know all your secrets, and I will use them to my advantage.”

 

    “This is why you’re not a knight yet, Winchester!” She yelled, as he exited the store, laughing all the way to Cas’ car.

 

    He glanced over to Cas, who was staring at him with someone like amusement mixed with mild annoyance. It was strange, but Dean thought that face felt like home, like even though his world was shifting, Cas would keep him grounded. He found comfort in the fact that their lives were about to get crazy, but here Cas was, sitting in his car, laughing at Dean like nothing was wrong.  He playfully glared in Cas’ direction.

 

    “What are you laughing at? We’ve got a world to save!”

 

    “Dean, I think you’re being overly dramatic, and I’m laughing at you, you idiot.”

 

    “I take offense to that. When I reach knight status, I am totally saving another princess.”

 

    “Princess? Really, Dean? That’s how you wanna’ play this?” He glanced over at Dean, giving him a second to amend his statement. When it was clear Dean was not backing down, he sat up straighter and tried to look as regal as possible. “That’s fine then, Dean. I wouldn’t want to be seen with a simple handmaiden anyway.” Dean couldn’t hold back his laughter, watching Cas manage to keep a straight face through his speech. The sound of Dean’s laughter, which was more like a giggle at this point, broke Cas’ resolve however, and soon they were both grinning manically at one another trying to calm their breathing.

 

    Cas started the car as silence finally overcame them. It kind of felt like the calm before the storm, a small amount of peace being awarded to them as they entered into what felt like something bigger than the both of them. Dean was quiet on the drive over, but not uncomfortable so, it was clear he was thinking, though his thoughts were much calmer than they had been earlier in the evening. The only words spoken were directions toward the more rural part of town.

 

    Dean wasn’t paying much attention to the road, but it wasn’t hard for Cas to navigate. At this point he was mostly taking a straight path down the country road. At least he was, until Dean decided to through his arm out in front of him, yelling for him to pull over.

 

    “Sorry, wasn’t paying attention, just turn down this path.” Dean said, apologetic grin plastered on his face.  

 

    Cas turned down the gravel road, leading further into the forest, leaving the house far from sight. Around 5 minutes down the path, he finally sets eyes on the home. It’s surrounded by tall, full, trees on either side, providing shade for nearly the entire property. The house itself is more like a large log cabin that gives off a homey vibe. It’s comforting in a way, like it’s a safe haven for those who truly need it. He pulls up next to a car that has to be at least 50 years old, it reminds him of the Impala in a way, and Cas thinks he can already see the resemblance of the two men.

 

    Eager for answers, Dean jumps out as soon as Cas stops the car. He runs up to the house, knocking on the door, while Cas gathers the file and books that Dean left behind. As he walks the narrow pathway leading to the door, it opens, revealing a man in his late 70’s, dressed in clothing similar to that of a librarian. He appears elated to see Dean, almost as excited as Dean looks, before he turns his head and gets a glimpse of Cas.

 

    “Who is this young man?” He asks, looking at Dean.

 

    “This is Cas…Castiel, my-my boyfriend?” It comes out sounding more like a question then he meant, but just to make sure, he turns to Cas, checking him for signs of rejection. Seeing none, he amends his previous statement. “Yeah, he’s my boyfriend. Cas, this is Grandpa Henry.”

 

    “It’s nice to meet you sir.” Cas says, holding out his hand, trying to hide his nerves from the man.

 

    Henry gives him an appraising look. It’s clear that a strong bond exists between the two Winchester men. From what Dean told Cas, he always had a strong connection to the man. Cas wasn’t so sure that Dean wouldn’t throw him to the curb if Henry disapproved. He hoped he wouldn’t, but even in the small amount of time he’d known Dean, he knew that nothing was more important to the man than family. He lets out a sigh of relief when a small smile finally appears on Henry’s face. It’s still tentative, as if waiting to gauge the other man’s worth, but it’s a smile none the less, and Cas will take whatever he can get.

 

    “It’s nice to meet you as well, Castiel. Why don’t you boys come in and have a cup of coffee.”

 

    “’’Course.” Dean begins, allowing time for Henry to step aside before entering, Castiel following closely behind. “We actually came to talk about something Grandpa.”

 

    “And what is that, Dear boy?” He asks, pouring coffee into 3 mugs and setting out sugar and creamer on the countertop.

 

    “Um. Well, I found something at the Bunker.”

 

    “Yes, there’s much there that I have yet to see. Many surprises await inside that place.” He says, sounding slightly enigmatic.

 

    “What I found…It wasn’t really your usually sort of thing. It’s weird, even for the Bunker. But I think you might be able to help us.” Dean points to the folder, still in Cas’ hands, and Cas sets it down on the table in front of Henry, lowering the books down as well.

 

    “Oh, look what you boys have found.” They watch as he opens the file, sifting through the various contents. “I haven’t seen this in over 40 years.”

 

    “So, you know what it is?” Dean asks, clearly excited.

 

    “Of course. Do you not?”

 

    “I…I recognized the symbol. Men of Letters, right?”

 

“Yes. Are you sure we should be discussing such things in front of him.” Henry says, glancing toward Cas Though there’s no malice in his tone; it still stings him a little, knowing someone so important to Dean doesn’t trust him.

 

“I’m sure. I trust Cas.” Dean says with certainty, it makes Cas’ heart swell.

 

“Very well. I trust your judgement.” He walks toward the living area once more, grabbing a stack of books from the shelf and thrusting them toward Dean. They read ‘MOL Records: Lebanon’ with the small sigil placed in the center. All of the books have different dates on the staring when his father would have been just a little boy. They’re filled with names and contact information, as well as directories and details of important information in regards to the research the men did. Cas looks at them in awe, while Dean stares blankly at them, unable to comprehend these enormous secret his grandfather must have kept.

 

“So, you’re like a monster hunter or something?” Dean finally asks.

 

“Hunter!” Henry sputters. “I’m not a hunter, son. Those men are savages.” He scoffs, thinking of the hunters he was forced into contact with through his work with the Men of Letters. “We researched, and adapted, we helped people. We weren’t killers like those brutes that call themselves hunters.”

 

“Ok, we get it. Not hunters. But I’m still not getting the whole picture here. What exactly are we dealing with? And why am I just hearing about this now? Does dad know?”

 

“You’re a legacy Dean, of course your father knows. Your mother does as well, she comes from generations of hunters, and she was raised in the life. When they had you, she made the decision to break from her lifestyle in the hope that you would have a better life than her. I always hoped that meant you would carry on the Winchester legacy and become a Man of Letters, but she made it very clear that she didn’t want you to know anything about what we did. I’m sorry to have kept this secret, but it was your mother's wish, and I had to respect that.”

 

“I can’t believe this! They knew about all this crap and they hid it from me!” Dean was clearly seething, trying and failing to show restraint as he got up and began pacing around the room.

 

“Dean, calm down please. We don’t even know all the details. I’m sure they only wished to protect you. Surely you can see how this could be dangerous, even with the little we have seen.” Cas said, in an attempt to calm the man.

 

“Castiel is right. This was for the safety of you as well as your brother. As much as I would like to answer your questions, I fear I have already said too much. It is not my place, and if you wish to learn more, I must ask you speak with your mother first.”

 

“I don’t want to talk to them. I’m an adult. I found the file. You can’t just ask Cas and me to forget all of this. We deserve to know.”

 

“You’re right, you do, and if I could, I would train you right away, both of you, but I can’t.”

 

“Why not?” Dean asked, finally sitting down. Though outwardly his face showed only anger, Cas could see that he was scared underneath it all. Perhaps of what his parents had kept from him, the secrets, the lies, or maybe it was finally sinking in that all of this was real.

 

“As you know, the Men of Letters disbanded many years ago. I don’t have enough information, space, or time, to properly train you. Most of our knowledge was lost many years ago, along with the Bunker.”

 

“The Bunker? What are you talking about? That’s not lost, I was there today. It’s where I found this file.”

 

“Not that Bunker.  I named the shop that to honor my fallen friends and the legacy we shared. The Men of Letters had many secret bases with the headquarters being right here in Lebanon. A long time ago, there was an attack, and we lost most of our men that day, along with the keys to the facilities that held all the records, artifacts, and books we had.”

 

“What if we talked to other members, or their families? Would any of them have access to the key? Could you show us where it is if we found one?”

 

“There was only one key we know of that was not destroyed. I suppose if you could locate the key, I could lead you to the Bunker, but I still do not want you involved without your mother's consent.”

 

“Stop treating me like I’m a child! Don’t you see what we could do here? Cas is an expert with this sort of thing and I’ve got a GED and a give-‘em-hell attitude. We could do this! We could re-establish The Men of Letters.” At this point, Dean seemed genuinely excited but it was clear by the look in Henry’s face that he was not going to give in easily. Cas decided it would be best to get Dean out before he angered himself further, but he wasn’t sure how he could convince him to leave now. After a lot of deliberation, and one long uncomfortable silence, Cas got an idea.

 

“Hey, Dean?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Why don’t we just go see your parents? I could meet them and we could talk this over. I think it’d be best to give it a few days. We’ll come up with a plan, show them we know what we’re doing, and then go from there.”

 

After a long sigh from Dean, he finally calmed himself down and nodded his affirmation. “I guess we can do that.” Another long pause. ” Thanks, Babe.” Dean responded before standing up to hug his grandfather.

 

Castiel made a move to stand, following Dean toward the door, but before he could leave, Henry called back to him. Castiel saw Dean give him a questioning look, before turning to see Henry waving at him to go on ahead. Once it was clear that Dean made his way out of the door, Henry began to speak.

 

“How long have you been dating my grandson?”

 

“Officially?” He nodded. “One day.”

 

The look of shock was clear on Henry’s face, thinking about it, Cas supposed that was an appropriate reaction. “Forgive me, but you seem very close for such a small amount of time.”

 

“Yes, Dean… understands me and I him, in a way neither of us has experienced. We don’t need to tell each other something to be able to see it there. It’s like we’ve known each other our whole lives.” Cas looked toward the ground, slightly embarrassed by his admission before adding, “And if it’s any consolation, we’ve known each other for over a month.”

 

“I need you to promise me something, Castiel.” He made sure Castiel was looking at him before continuing. “Promise me, that you will look after that boy. He’s too kind for his own good sometimes. He puts so much effort into helping others, that I fear something like this could destroy him. You make sure that doesn’t happen. Make sure that he still lives his life, that he’s still happy.”

 

“Of course, Mr. Winchester, I promise.”

 

“Call me Henry.” Castiel nodded. “You better be going now before Dean comes and drags you out of here himself.”

 

“Yes, of course, Thank you, Henry. You’ve been very kind.”

 

“Thank you, Castiel, for making my grandson happy.”

 

Castiel’s face flushed at the comment. He stared down at the ground while nodding, before he turned to leave. He saw Dean by the car, tapping his foot on the ground, impatiently waiting for Castiel to return. When he looked up, their eyes locked and they both got lost in the vast expanses of each others eyes. Breaking the moment, Dean ran up to him and kissed him softly before leading him back toward the car.

 

“Thank you so much for coming with me, Cas. It means a lot.”

 

“It was no inconvenience to me, Dean. I enjoy spending time with you, and your grandfather is a very kind man.”

 

    Dean blushed and looked down at his folded hands, rested in his lap. It was making him uncomfortable to know that Cas already cared about him. Dean knew that he was the type of guy to shoot first, but Cas seemed so organized and careful, there was no way that he was really feeling the same way as Dean. He could see the innocence in his face. It was the first thing that attracted Dean to him, like an angel amongst demons. He was certain that what Cas was feeling would pass, even if he seems ok now, no sane person would stick around, especially now. It seemed however, like Cas could read his thoughts, as he quickly put an end to Dean’s self-deprecating mind.

 

    “Dean? You know that I am an adult, fully capable of making decisions, correct?”

 

    “Yeah…” Dean said, voice wavering.

 

    “Then you must also know that it is my decision, not yours, to help you with this. I understand that this is abnormal, but think of all we could learn!”

 

    “Calm down there, Cas. You’re starting to sound like Sammy.” Dean finally smiled, if only slightly, at the clear excitement on Cas’ face.

 

    “Good.” And it was clear by his tone that Castiel was done discussing the matter. 


	7. Chapter 7

It took a few weeks for Dean to finally coerce Castiel into visiting his parents. They had a game plan and had gone through it over and over, tediously checking every last word, at Castiel’s insistence. It seemed the man was stalling. At first, the notion scared Dean, after all, he figured it was only a matter of time before he left, like everyone else. By week two, Dean had gotten over that completely and his anxiety quickly turned to amusement when he found out why Castiel was stalling. 

It happened one afternoon, while they were sitting in Dean’s apartment, Cas drinking tea, that Dean would never admit to buying specifically for him, and Dean sifting through files, a nervous expression on his face.

“Dean, what’s wrong?” Castiel had asked.

“Nothing. I’m fine. Yep, all good here. Why would you even ask that?”

“ Dean. ” Cas said, in his voice that clearly meant Dean was being scolded.

“Nothing, Okay!” Dean yelled, before blurting out “Do you not want to help me anymore?” 

“Dean” Castiel seemed utterly despondent in his response. “How could you possibly think that?”

“It’s just… We’ve been working for weeks, but you never seem to think we’re ready. I figure you’re stalling ‘cause you don’t wanna part of my crazy anymore.”

Castiel blushed, scrubbing his hand against the back of his neck, a nervous habit he’d picked up from Dean. “I… I’mafraidyourparentswillhateme.”  Cas said, so quickly you could barely make out the words.

Dean threw his head back, breaking into a laugh. Every time he tried to calm himself, more giggles burst through, and soon he was having trouble catching his breath. He took deep breathes, wiping the tears that accumulated near his eyes, and did his best at calming himself down. 

“Cas, that’s ridiculous.” He said, to which Cas’ frown deepened.

“This isn’t funny, Dean.” 

“It is, Cas. It’s damn hilarious. How could my parents not love you? You’re adorable, almost as much as I am.

That finally got Cas to raise the corners of his mouth in what passed for a smile, at least for him. It was clear that he was still nervous, but clearly more at ease than he had been moments ago. Dean considered this a victory for team Winchester, and as such declared a feast was in order, one to be held as his parents’ house. Which is how, the next day, Dean and Cas found themselves outside his parents’ home, holding a pack of beer and stacks of files that seemed to go on forever. Say what you will about Cas’, but the dude was nothing if not thorough.

After finally convincing Cas that it was ok to just walk in, considering Dean had lived there for nearly all of his life, they stepped into the entryway, before announcing their presence. At least, Dean announced his presence, Castiel’s came across as more of a dull mumble that Dean could barely hear even with his entire left side pressed against the guy. 

Mary was the first to walk in from the kitchen, clearly in the middle of baking, with an apron tied around her waist and a faint dusting of flour flowing down her golden hair. Looking at her, Castiel could see how Dean shared so many of her features, from the strong but somehow calming presence, to the sandy brown highlights in their hair. They were both so incredibly beautiful, but he could never mention that to Dean. 

“You must be Castiel.” Mary said voice bright and filled with warmth.

“Yes, Mrs. Winchester. Castiel Novak.” He reached out a hand for her to grab. It was only there for a moment however, before he was pulled into what could only be described as a mom hug. It was somehow already filled with love and affection, though she had only known Castiel for moments. 

“Call me Mary. Sam has told me so much about you.”

“WHAT?” Dean shouted, at the same time as Cas did his signature head tilt, before stating “I’ve only met him once."

“And I didn’t tell him that much. I’m not that stupid; I know the moose is a blabbermouth.” He paused for a moment, giving a flabbergasted sigh. “Charlie.” He said, more of a statement then a question.

“Charlie.” His mother agreed. “Well, never mind that. You boys come on in, I’m making a pie. Your father should be home any minute and then we can start eating.”

“Mom, we’re not just here for dinner. We have something important to talk to you about.”

“Dean! Did you get Castiel here pregnant?” His mother said, with a false seriousness in her tone.

“Mom, come on. This is important.”

“Dean, did you really think your grandfather didn’t call me weeks ago. I’ve been waiting for you boys to show up. I know what you want to talk about and it can wait until after we’ve eaten. Got it, young man?” 

“Got it, Ma’am” Dean whispered back, head hung low like a scolded toddler. 

Castiel watched the exchange making an effort not to laugh at Dean’s complacency in the presence of his mother. It was clear that the woman, though gentle and caring, could be just a strong-willed and imposing as any Winchester. He was glad to see that he had been easily accepted by her, now he only hoped he’d have the same effect on Dean’s father.

He didn’t have to wait long to see though, as Dean’s father walked in the door only seconds later, covered in motor oil and grease. He thought he recalled Dean saying something about him being a mechanic and his appearance definitely confirmed that for him. He looked rougher then Dean, his face more stern and postured, a military man for sure. Looking at the near scowling face, it was hard to detect any familial relation at all, other than maybe their similar style of dressing. This man was like the polar opposite of Mary in so many ways, Castiel wondered how they ever fit together.

"Who's this?" John said, voice gruff and intimidating.

Castiel stepped toward him, hoping to make a good impression. He made sure to stand a little taller and display as much confidence he could muster when panicking on the inside. He'd seen Deans posture change the second the man entered the room, it scared him, but he thought that it might have just been military sort of thing. 

"I'm Castiel, sir. You're son's boyfriend." He responded, pride in his voice at the last statement. 

John looked him up and down, a twinge of disgust added to the frown that was already in place. That was when the panic really set in. ' Did I just out Dean?'  He screamed in his head .  He couldn't believe he had done something so stupid. Why on earth did he think that was something he could say? Dean must have seen the beginnings of a breakdown, because he rushed to Castiel's side and hooked his arm around his shoulder before glaring in his father's direction. 

"Dad!" He snapped.

Johns head shot up, looking to his son with defiance. Mary stepped between the two silently waring men, breaking their views of each other. Once again, Castiel was great fun for her presence. The look in her eyes however, scared him more than the anger in John's eyes. He saw both men back down almost immediately, and it was clear right then who really ran their house.

"John Winchester! Castiel is a nice boy, you better be on your best behavior." 

"Yes, dear." He sighed, dejected.

"Now, we are going to have a nice dinner and then you can talk to us, got it?"

Immediately after the request, they all agreed, shuffling off to different corners of the house to hide their shame. Castiel found it funny, but it was clear Dean was upset. He schooled his expression as he walked behind Dean headed to his old bedroom. When he opened the door, it was hard not to see every piece of Dean in the room. The bed was centered on the wall to his right, facing a desk that looked to be used more for storage than studying. Posters hung all over the room, mostly for movies and T.V. Shows he had enjoyed as a kid, others for old rock bands. In the far left corner lied his favorite part of the room. There was a floor to ceiling bookshelf, filled to the brim with books and records, and by its side was an old record player, worn with use. To Castiel this image was like a personification of all the things that made up Dean Winchester, and it was easy then for him to see that he loved him.

It was strange how normal that realization seemed, but he felt so at home in this room and that only furthered his feelings for Dean. He wasn't sure how the man would respond to this knowledge, so after a final glance around the room, he settled on the bed next to Dean. It was quiet for what felt like hours before Dean turned on his side and looked over to his angel, still lying on his back. 

"He knew." Was all he said.

A sigh of relief came quickly from Castiel, but then a wave of confusion washed over him. His father's reaction didn't make any sense if he was already aware of Dean's sexuality. Maybe it was something else? Maybe Dean's father just hated him. That thought suddenly seemed so much more plausible. He knew he was weird and awkward and people generally found him unnerving, it only makes sense that John would pick up on that. He decided that he had to know.

"I don't understand." He finally said, "Why did your father react that way if I didn't tell him anything he didn't know."

"Just because he knows I'm bi doesn't mean he accepts it." Dean sighed, "Cas, I don't bring home men a lot... Hell, I don't bring home anyone. Anyway, the few times I have brought someone home, they've been women. I think my dad figured I was just going through a phase, he didn't see all the guys in between the girls, so he could practically ignored that part of my life. But-"

"Now I'm here." Castiel finished.

"Now you're here." Dean agreed, solemnly.

"Dean... I'm sorry." Cas said, finally turning to face Dean.

"Not your fault, Cas." He replied.

Dean could see Cas beginning to form what would surely be a huge explanation as to how exactly this was his fault. Judging by the look of concentration , it must have practically been a thesis paper on 'Reasons Castiel Novak is an Awkward Screw-Up.' Dean has stomped out enough of Cas' self-deprecating lies to know the look. So, Dean decided to cut him off before it ever left his mouth, he knew it'd be weird since they were in his parents house, but he was under pressure here and his mind was a bit fogged by how nice Cas looked in his bedroom.

He inched closer to him, but the man barely noticed, clearly still spiraling down the rabbit hole of hatred. Dean took his opportunity as he saw Castiel part his lips slightly, almost instinctively. Closing the distance, he quickly got to work pushing all his feelings of love and caring for the other man into the kiss. Castiel was stiff at first, caught off guard by Deans attack, but as his mind caught up, he quickly returned  Dean's passion. 

Once Dean knew he had permission, he flipped Castiel onto his back, straddling his waist as he pushed back down, into the kiss. Cas moaned lightly at the change in angle, turning the kiss into something more frenzied and rough. Dean pulled away slightly, lowering himself to kiss at Cas' jaw, while working to unbutton his shirt. He trailed kisses down Cas' neck, fingers still working furiously to open up his lover's shirt. Castiel was already melting underneath him, losing his control while Dean nipped at him, pulling his shirt wide off his shoulders as he'd finally reached the last button.

Dean latched onto his collarbone, sucking a bruise onto his skin that hurt just the right amount. Cas bucked up into Dean, gasping when he finally felt that friction he so desired. Dean pulled back at that, looking at Castiel with dark lust blown eyes. He winked at Cas, locating whatever he was searching for, and pulled off his own shirt, revealing his beautifully toned body. Cas quickly reached out to run his hands down his unclothed sides, almost in awe of this god-like man. He was pushed away as Dean began to grow impatient, allowing Dean to lower himself on top of his shocked lover, now pressing skin to skin. 

He loved the feeling of Cas below him, invading him with his mouth. The tiny moans and gasps that the blue-eyed man failed to suppress were enough to encourage him to continue. He rested his hands on the buckle of Cas' pants, eyes searching for permission, receiving a quick nod in return. It took him several tries before the button came undone, hands shaking as he pulled them down slowly, keeping contact with Cas every step of the way.

Castiel was quick to remove his pants as well, leaving them separated only by the thin fabric of their boxers. They rushed into another kiss, wet and messier than before , but just a passionate. Dean was filled with a sudden urge to see Cas lose any semblance of control. Breaking apart, he ripped down Cas' boxers, watching his throbbing cock spring up against his stomach. It was mere seconds before he took him in his mouth, Cas releasing a loud moan at the contact. As Dean began bobbing up and down, licking his way around the shaft, pressing hot kisses to the head, a litany of curses and murmured words fell from Cas' mouth.

"D-Dean...fuck, fuck, Dean!" He screamed in warning. 

Dean didn't pull back, increasing his speed and lowering himself further down until he was nuzzling the thick, black, curls that cascaded down Cas' lower torso.  He muffled a scream, shoving the side of his face into the pillow as he came down the larger man's throat. Dean worked him through his orgasm, pulling back as the pulsing came to a stop and rising back up to lie on His lover's chest, head buried in his shoulder. He could hear the quiet panting of Cas trying to catch his breath and it calmed him into a light sleep, shifting only slightly,  uncomfortable with the feeling of his own release sticking to his boxers and thighs. 

  
________  
  


He awoke to a pounding noise, shattering the bubble of warmth created by the press of Cas' skin against his own. His mother's voice flowed through his head, causing him to shoot up in bed, panicking at the thought of his mother seeing them in this state.

"Honey, dinner's done. I promise your father won't make your boyfriend uncomfortable." 

"Yeah, mom. We'll be right down. We were just... Going through the...files." He said, embarrassment creeping into his tone. 

"Okay, well, don't take too long getting dressed, your father will eat everything. " she said, before turning and walking back down the stairs, giggling quietly to herself as she pictured the look on Dean's face. 

Back in the room, Dean was silently trying not to panic, but he just couldn't hold it all in.

"Fuck." He whispered, before turning to look at Castiel's sleeping form.

When he looked at him, everything paused, not literally of course, that would be crazy, but he stopped panicking almost immediately. He slowed his breathing to match Castiels deep, sleep-filled breaths. It soothed him to his core, and for a moment, this calm haze just washed over him, and he knew they would be ok. 

He leaned down, still smiling at Castiel, and gently placed a kiss on his forehead. As he pulled away slowly, he whispered so low it was barely audible, " I love you." And if he'd held that position for a moment longer, he would have seen the small smile form on Cas' face and heard his murmured "I love you too."

  
________

 

Within an hour, due to Cas and Dean rushing through their dinners, still unable to hide the smiles on their faces at their not-so-secret confessions, they had finished eating. It was clear by the bouncing of Dean’s knee that was shaking the entire table, and Castiel’s inability to look anyone in the eye, that they were nervous. Mary was not concealing her amusement at the sight very well, and even John, who had practically been scowling his way through dinner, was having trouble holding in his laughter. Finally, Mary took pity on them and asked the question they had all been waiting for.

“So, what did you boys want to talk about?” She said, not so subtly.

“Mrs. Winchester we…” “Mom, I” They both started, turning to stare at one another, seeming to converse through the look in their eyes until Castiel nodded and then both turned back to face the family.

“Mom… Cas and I want to join the men of letters.” He said, trying to sound indifferent.

“What?” John said, as Mary quietly nodded. 

“We, Cas and I, found some things at work. We talked to Grandpa and he explained what we saw. He said we couldn’t do anything until we talked to you first.”

“What makes you think ‘Cas’ can just walk in here and join the family business?” John seethed. “He ain’t family, boy! This is why we didn’t tell you. You never knew when to keep your damn mouth shut!” 

“John!” Mary shouted, glaring at the man in question. “You cannot talk to him like that. You know exactly why we didn’t tell them, and it sure as hell wasn’t that, and as far as Castiel is concerned, that boy is as good as family, so I expect you to accept that. Now, sit down and lets talk like adults.” 

John pouted and glared toward Castiel, but still sat down with a quiet huff, receiving another glare from Mary and a look so intense you’d think he was trying to burn a hole in him from Dean. After a few uncomfortable moments, everyone had calmed down enough to start the discussion again, this time, with Mary taking the lead.

“Can you boys tell me why you want to do this? Do you know what it means?”   


At that prompt, Castiel was quick to jump in, seizing the opportunity to go over the plan they had both tirelessly worked on for the past few weeks. There was a passion so strong in his voice, that no one could bring themselves to interrupt. At moments, the plan went over all of their heads, but they listened and nodded along, entranced by the conviction he held in his voice. Dean was in awe of the man he loved, now truly seeing him in his element, it was utterly beautiful. 

It was hours before they had worked every kink out, and Mary still wasn’t exactly happy with the agreement, but the look of excitement and pure joy on her son's face made it all worth it. Castiel’s speech helped of course too. But it was finally decided, the boys would be searching for the missing key, on their way to becoming the first people to join the Men of Letters in over 50  years. This was all contingent upon them abiding by Mary’s rules however, meaning if they stepped out of line it was all shut down. It was only a few simple requests though, check in weekly, no actual hunting, they had to be properly trained by someone Mary deemed qualified (A.K.A. herself) , and finally, above all else, no one was allowed to die.

Castiel and Dean left the house that night with a weight lifted off their shoulders and a newfound purpose in life. While they both knew their was so much work ahead of them, it would be an adventure they went through together. One they were going to make sure to start as soon as possible. 


	8. Chapter 8

Weeks and weeks of searching had finally led them here. To be more specific, it was a graveyard in the middle of the night. They figured, if you're gonna dig up a body, which according to something called the ‘Ghostfacers’ was a felony in most(all) places, they should at least do it in the dark. That was of course the bright idea that Dean had had  before Castiel realized how fucking scary cemeteries were at night, especially when you’re attempting not to get arrested.

    They stop when they reach the grave they’ve been searching for, hoping to find the key to the true Bunker. Dean points it out with his flashlight, wasting no time in directing Cas to begin digging. Cas gives him a look that clearly states ‘If you ever want to see me naked again, get your ass over here and start digging. Dean sighs, handing the flashlight over to Cas and picking up the shovel that was propped against the headstone.

    It took at least an hour before Dean finally hit the coffin. If he’d realized anything in that time, it was that he clearly needed to work out more. That, or gravedigging really was not an option for him, at least, not professionally. Panting and exhausted, he lifted himself from the grave and Cas dropped down to open it up, shining the flashlight inside as he went. At first they could only see the skeleton, though it was clear the key was not here. Then, as Castiel was shining the light around in a swirling motion across the corpse, Dean shouted “Stop”, as a glare came off an object hidden within.

    Using all the strength he had left in him, he hopped back into the grave, ripping the dog tag off of the bodies neck and sliding under the light to get a better look. Dean turned to Cas, eyes wide and excited, watching as Cas realized what he just discovered. It meant their search was not over, they hadn’t failed just yet. It meant that Larry Ganem was not dead.

    The next morning, they both woke up to a silent hotel room, quickly rushing through their routines of showering and brushing their teeth, before Castiel began his research and Dean started making calls. The hum of the computer and the clacking of the keyboard functioned as the background music to Dean’s non-stop talking, calling people back, and moving on to new leads.

    3 hours in, Castiel shouted Dean’s name, flipping the computer over for him to see the page. Dean shushed the person on the other end of the line, some WW2 vet. or something, and scanned through the page of information pulled up before him. He clicked the phone shut and stood up, rushing to the opposite side of the table and enveloping Cas in a large, bone-crushing hug.

    “You found him, Cas! You found him!” He yelled, ecstatic.

Of course, it wasn’t certain, nothing was, but Cas had found the best lead they’d had throughout this entire thing. It was like Dean could sense that this was it. If anyone had the key, it would be this man, and soon, Dean would continue on his family's legacy, Castiel right by his side.

He called back anyone he’d asked for help searching, informing them of the new developments. Cas drove the Impala down the country road, following the map on his phone to the last known address of Larry Ganem. To say they were excited would be a vast understatement, they were practically ready to cry out with joy. All of their hard work would pay off, they would be able to make a difference, really help people for a change. It was almost too much for Dean.

They arrived at their destination a little over an hour later, springing from their seats and practically running to the old man's door. It opened to reveal an old woman, clearly annoyed at their frenzied knocking, but when they’d said they were the sons of one of Larry’s old friends, she had practically glowed with happiness. She led them to him, sitting in the living room of their cozy little house, looking a little cagier than expected.

Dean sat down across from him, allowing space for Castiel in the seat to his side. When Dean’s face came into full view for the old man, there was clear recognition in his eyes. He seemed a little wary of Castiel’s presence but Dean’s hand rested lightly on his knee must have reassured him that the shorter man meant no harm.

“You are a Winchester.” He finally spoke.

“I am. Do you know why we’re here.”

“I suspect, but I may have lost some of that ability in my old age. Why don’t you boys just tell me?” A hint of a threat lying there, but his words were filled with more kindness than distrust.

“We want to continue the legacy. We need the key to headquarters so we can try, with the help of my grandfather, and a network of hunters, to re-establish the Men of Letters.”

“And why would you want to do that?” He asked slowly, eyes narrowing.

“People are dying, sir, everyday. The Men of Letters saved them, and now there’s no one but hunters out there to protect them. From what I hear, hunters aren’t much in the way of skills beyond chopping something head off. I want to make sure, and Castiel definitely wants to make sure, that we learn everything we can about these creatures, and protect everyone we can in the process.”

There must have been something in his tone that proved his words were true, as the old man simply nodded and stood to walk out of the room. They listened to his steps as he walked away, looking to each other, attempting to gauge exactly what that reaction had meant. Before they could reach a verdict, the man’s footsteps echoed back down the hall as he reappeared in the room, now holding a small, intricately carved box.

“Here you go. Now leave.” The man said sternly, leaving the two men shocked.

“I said go” he repeated. “If certain things become aware that key is in your possession, it will not be pretty. You’ll be safe there. Go now, before I change my mind.”

They stood to leave, rushing through the room, scared beyond belief, but smiling still at the prospects of their future. As they dropped down into the leather seats of the Impala, Dean handed the box over to Cas, telling him to open it as he drove them back to Lebanon. It was only minutes later that Dean was pulling over because Cas had thrown the thing into the back seat, huffing about it being a stupid contraption. They traded places, Cas in the driver's seat and Dean taking over as lead puzzle-solver. Unlike Cas, it took him only minutes to unlike the device, revealing a key with a slip of paper listing the location of the bunker. Funnily enough, it was only a few miles down a deserted road from the Bunker books and records store.

Cas glared at him as he turned down the graveled path, following Dean’s directions to the allusive location. He finally pulled in at a heavily weed-filled area, mountainous in parts and flat in others. Sunken into one side, was what Dean referred to as a hobbit hole, and Cas was quick to agree, though Dean would later dub the home as ‘the Batcave.’

They walked to the door in near silence, the only sounds coming from their deep breaths and the faint tweeting of birds and rustling of trees in the distance. As they closed in on their destination, Dean pulled the key from his pocket, slipping it into the clearly underused lock mechanism. It clicked twice before finally unlocking the large metal door. Dean extracted the key, easing the door open slowly, allowing Castiel to enter first.

They walked onto a balcony, overlooking what appeared to be a war room. It held a large electronic map in the center, surrounded by what appeared to be ancient computers. ‘Charlie would definitely need to help with some renovating’ , Dean thought. They walked side by side, neither saying a word, down the stairs and through the front room. The walls in the new room were filled in every space with a book or artifact. Catalogs strewn everywhere, games left on the tables in the center of the room, accompanied by overturned coffee mugs, no longer serving their purpose.

Both men allowed their gaze to cascade across the room, taking in everything before them in a slow and methodical way. When their eyes finally met, Dean broke the silence, saying the only thing that came to mind, “Well Cas, we’ve got work to do.”

~The End~

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! You can find me at Underthecorktree on Tumblr if you'd like to check me out.


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